Historically, thermal simulations of electronic systems have utilized dramatically simplified geometric versions of the systems. The simplifications show up in two main ways:

Part count reductions, where assemblies that might actually contain thousands of components are simulated using 200 parts or less.

Individual components are dramatically simplified so that they end up as nearly or completely orthogonal even when in reality they involve highly sculpted, organic shapes.

For some assemblies the inaccuracy, due to these simplifications, is still within acceptable levels, but for many modern designs the simplifications would cause unacceptable deviations from reality.

This webcast details techniques for modeling even the most complex geometries in STAR-CCM+. CD-adapco has decades of experience modeling highly detailed complex assemblies. Various tools and techniques in STAR-CCM+ allow the thermal analyst to include all the detail needed for an accurate simulation.